(4)Boise State May Unfortunately Make Their Final Statement Tonight in Tulsa

The (4)Boise State Broncos play tonight at 4-1 Tulsa in what may end up being their last big game of the season (unless Idaho can keep it rolling until the last game of the conference slate). The Golden Hurricanes have a tough defense and a playmaking receiver (Tennessee transfer Slick Shelley), two things Boise State hasn't faced since they dismantled Oregon. If Boise St. wants to play in the National Championship, the Broncos need to win this game impressively and then become Tulsa fans for the rest of the year. The Broncos could make a case for the bid if they finish undefeated with wins over the winners of both the Conference USA (which could be Tulsa if they win their showdown with Houston) and the Pac-10 (a conference that Oregon currently leads). If Fresno State wins out, Boise State's blowout victory over the Bulldogs will also stand out. Boise State ran the Dogs off the field while Wisconsin and highly ranked Cincinnati nearly loss to them. Boise State has established themselves as the premiere mid-major program in college football, but if they want to take the next step towards contending for a national title, they must take on a more aggressive scheduling mentality. They could actually take a few pages from the Fresno State playbook by adopting their "anybody, anywhere" mantra. Unlike Fresno, who competes with heart, good coaching, and a few star players (i.e. running back Ryan Mathews), Boise St. has the overall talent to beat teams like Wisconsin and Cincinnati. They may have to go out and schedule them. Boise State is fielding a national championship contending team that is only playing a Fiesta Bowl contending schedule. Thus, they find themselves in the precarious situation of rooting for teams like Oregon, Tulsa, and Idaho to win out in order to make the argument that they are playing formidable opponents. However, there is one thing to add to this conundrum, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE BOISE STATE ON THEIR SCHEDULE! I applaud Oregon for actually putting them on the schedule, but who else will be brave enough to do it after watching the Ducks get throttled two years in a row. In fact, this may be the program's real problem.

Amateur Status College Basketball Big 12 Preview

The Big 12 will be fun to watch this year. There will be NBA draft picks across the board (Cole Aldrich, Craig Brackins, Willie Warren) and talented freshman (Wally Judge, Xavier Henry, Avery Bradley) making an instant impact as well. You can even expect to see a transfer (the immediately eligible Jai Lucas goes to Texas from Florida, while former Wolverine Epke Udoh joins the Baylor front line and heavily recruited Curtis Kelly will finally see some minutes at K-State after coming from the end of Uconn's bench) make a move towards star status. Despite all the talent remaining in the league this year. The Big 12 race will still be contended solely by Kansas and Texas. The conference may come down to which potentially one and done freshman has the most impact on his respective team.

Big 12 Rankings
1. Kansas Jayhawks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Baylor Bears
4. Kansas State Wildcats
5. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Oklahoma State Cowboys
7. Texas A&M Aggies
8. Missouri Tigers
9. Iowa State Cyclones
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers
12. Colorado Buffaloes

 All-Big 12 Team 
C - Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
G - Sherron Collins (Kansas)
F - LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor)
F - Craig Brackins (Iowa St.)
G - Willie Warren (Oklahoma)
G - Denis Clemente (Kansas State)
G - James Anderson (Oklahoma State)
G - Cory Higgins (Colorado)
F - Damion James (Texas)

All-Big 12 Rookie Team
G - Avery Bradley (Texas)
G - Xavier Henry (Kansas)
F/C - Keith Gallon (Oklahoma)
G - Tommy Mason-Griffin (Oklahoma)
F - Jordan Hamilton (Texas)
F - Wally Judge (Kansas State)
 

Amateur Status College Basketball Pac-10 Preview

The Pac-10 has become the forgotten power conference in college basketball. With games that routinely air at midnight on the east coast, basketball fans have not received the chance to see some of the top talent in the Pac-10 and thus have a low opinion of the conference. Before you call me crazy for ranking Washington in the top ten, set your alarm clock and check out a few latenight Pac-10 games on Fox Sports. You will be presently surprised by the amount of talent that resides in the pacific. 

Pac-10 Rankings
1. Washington Huskies
2. California Golden Bears
3. UCLA Bruins
4. USC Trojans
5. Arizona Wildcats
6. Oregon Ducks 
7. Washington St. Cougars
8. Oregon St. Beavers
9. Arizona St. Sun Devils
10. Stanford Cardinal

All-Pac 10 Team
G - Nic Wise (Arizona)
G - Patrick Christopher (California)
G - Jerome Randle (California)
G - Tajuan Porter (Oregon)
G - Klay Thompson (Washington State)
G - Dwight Lewis (USC)

All-Pac 10 Rookie Team
F - Solomon Hill (Arizona)
G - Abdul Gaddy (Washington)
F - Jamil Wilson (Oregon)
F - Brock Motum (Washington State)
C - Kyryl Natyazhko (Arizona)

Amateur Status College Basketball SEC Preview

Ever since Florida's super team (Noah, Green, Brewer, Horford, and Humphries) left the SEC after winning two straight national championships, the conference has been searching for a team to be the conference's flag bearer. The search has not gone well. The league actually flirted with being a single bid conference until a few teams stepped up in March to secure bids, but have no fear SEC fans, help is on the way. John Calipari has arrived in Lexington and he brought Worldwide Wes with him...but you didn't hear that from me (You will here more about William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley later on in this blog...I promise. Just in case your in need of more info, click here). The point is, nearly half of the All-SEC Freshman Team team will be playing for Calipari this year. Mississippi St. State freshman Renardo Sidney also will also claim a spot on the All-Shady Dealings Freshman Team (if you need any background information on the Renardo Sidney story, click here). The aforementioned Sidney and Kentucky's entire recruiting class will team up with fellow newbies Kenny Boynton (Florida) and John Jenkins (Vanderbilt) to inject a shot of sorely needed talent into the SEC. The SEC will be back in contention on the national stage this year, and it will have it's young guns to thank.

SEC Rankings
1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. Tennessee Volunteers
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs
4. Ole Miss Running Rebels
5. Florida Gators 
6. Vanderbilt Commodores
7. Arkansas Razorbacks
8. South Carolina Gamecocks
9. Alabama Crimson Tide
10. LSU Tigers
11. Georgia Bulldogs
12. Auburn Tigers 

All-SEC Team
F - Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F - Michael Washington (Arkansas)
G - Courtney Fortson (Arkansas)
F - JaMychal Green (Alabama)
G - Senario Hillman (Alabama)
F - Trey Thompkins (Georgia)
G - Terrico White (Ole Miss)
G - Chris Warren (Ole Miss)
F - Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)
G - Devan Downey (South Carolina)
F - Tyler Smith (Tennessee)
C - AJ Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)

All-SEC Rookie Team
G - John Wall (Kentucky)
G - Kenny Boynton Jr. (Florida)
F - DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky)
F - Renardo Sidney (Mississippi State)
G - John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
G - Eric Bledsoe (Kentucky)
C - Daniel Orton (Kentucky)
F - Tony Mitchell (Alabama)